Which season of the Church Year are we still in? Easter! That’s right, we are still celebrating our Lord’s resurrection, but we are adding to that the remembrance and celebration of Christ’s ascension into heaven. Remember our hymn from last week: “See, the Lord Ascends in Triumph”? That hymn told the story of the ascension on the 40th day of the Easter season. This week, we are still celebrating with the hymn “A Hymn of Glory Let Us Sing”.

Notice the “Easter A word” repeated over and over again in this hymn. “Alleluia” means “praise the Lord”. We are declaring this over and over again because Christ has conquered death and has ascended to sit at the right hand of the Father. Can you count how many times we sing “Alleluia” in each stanza?

The text of this hymn is attributed to the Venerable Bede, a 7th-8th-century Benedictine monk and biblical scholar. In the hymn, Bede tells us that “Christ, by a road before untrod, ascends unto the throne of God”. Never before had someone ascended into heaven to the right hand of God. Elijah went up into heaven in a chariot of fire, but he did not go to the right hand of the Father. Only Jesus has ascended to the right hand of God, and he reigns there even now. This is why “new hymns throughout the world shall ring” for we rejoice that Jesus has gone before us to prepare a place in heaven for us.

Review questions:

1. Which season of the Church Year are we in?

2. What other big event did we recently celebrate that is part of this season of the Church Year?

3. Who is said to be the author of this hymn?

4. What does it mean by “Christ, by a road before untrod”?

5. Where is Jesus reigning now?